Iran’s Intelligence Ministry denied its staff were behind a Canadian photojournalist’s death in July after the judiciary said two ministry officials had been charged with involvement, media reported on Tuesday. The Tehran prosecutor’s office said on Monday that two interrogators from the Intelligence Ministry had been charged with complicity in the "semi-intentional" murder of Zahra Kazemi, 54, a Montreal-based journalist of Iranian descent.
| "We wanted to kick her head in, but we didn't know she had a Canuck passport, so it wasn't really intentional, see?" |
The death of Kazemi, who Iranian government officials have said was killed by a blow to the head after her arrest for taking photographs outside a Tehran prison, has sparked a diplomatic row between Canada and Iran. "The incident that led to the death of Zahra Kazemi was not at all done by the staff of the Intelligence Ministry," the official news agency IRNA quoted a statement from the Intelligence Ministry as saying.
| "They only half killed her. Somebody else musta done the rest..." |
"How the incident happened is clearly evident for this ministry and the general public will be informed about it at the proper time," IRNA quoted the statement as saying.
"How about right after hell freezes over?"
The reformist newspaper Yas-e No said the Intelligence Ministry statement described the prosecutor’s report, prepared by a criminal investigator, as "sheer lies."
"The claims of the investigator that the interrogators were members of the Intelligence Ministry is not realistic," the newspaper quoted the ministry as saying.
"And as soon as we get done interrogating the investigator, he’ll tell you the same thing. If he doesn’t fall down, or something."
| "Honest! They weren't with us. Somebody left 'em here..." |
Canadian diplomats in Tehran were speechless not available for comment.
Busy filling out the paperwork requesting a transfer. |